Happy PSL Day!

Hello! I hope you had a great Labor Day Weekend! I know I sure did- I decorated my house for fall! Woohoo! And what a great way to cap off my fall decorating with the official return of the Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks this morning! If you follow me on Facebook, you already know it was released last week in secret with the access code PSL10. I hope you got to take advantage of it! It's an exciting year for the Pumpkin Spice Latte as it is celebrating its 10 year anniversary! That's right, the Pumpkin Spice Latte turns 10 years old this year! And Starbucks is going all out to celebrate.

There are some cute collectible things like traveler mugs, gift cards, etc that are available in stores, and then there's this baby:

A Swarovski crystal encrusted coffee tumbler for the small price of $150. But don't worry, it comes with a pre-loaded $20 gift card, so that makes it all worth it :-) I am kidding about this being affordable, but if it's something you like then more power to you! I really like the ombre-style orange coloring to represent the pumpkin at the bottom, but I also think this is something I could make at home after a trip to the local craft store. But either way, it's exciting that the PSL is back and turning 10 and being celebrated so much!

And the fall drinks returning to stores means fall gift cards are back, too! The past 2 years they have had a beautiful brown card with leaves and brail on top. This year they have two different cards. A yellow card with a few leaves on it, which looks very Thanksgiving-y to me, and a PSL mini card (with a hole punched on top to fit on your key ring).

In case you were wondering, the PSL sauce is very good again this year. Sweet, spicy, pumpkiny, flavorful... like fall in a cup. There were a few years (circa 2008-2010/2011) where the sauce was very bland, not spicy, not at all pumpkiny, bitter and lacking in flavor. It just plain did not taste good at all. I always had to pair it with Cinnamon Dolce syrup to bring out some spice and flavor. However, last year and this year they nailed it- it tastes just like it's supposed to! If you find it is too sweet for you, just ask for 1/2 the pumps and that will not only tone down the flavor, but also the calories.

This is such an exciting time of year! It is the unofficial end of summer being after Labor Day, and we made it to the BER months! YAY! I saw Disneyland Halloween Time commercials on the TV just now as I was writing this and got so excited! As I predicted a few posts ago, the date for Halloween Time is Friday, September 13th! Only 10 days away!!! Sooo exciting! The first day of autumn is less than 20 days from now, BBW is in full-force with all of their fall candles, home fragrance, body care and soaps, and Yankee Candle released their Halloween stuff today! So much fun stuff going on and even more wonderful things to look forward to! I hope you all join in on the festivities! Feel free to share any fall fun you have going on in your lives right now, I always like hearing about how everyone celebrates.

Cheers to the PSL 10 years and to the beginning of fall!

Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte Return Date- Confirmed!

Oh happy day! This morning at my local Starbucks, I was able to confirm my previously estimated PSL return date I had told you about- it WILL be back the day after Labor Day on Tuesday, September 3rd! YAAAY! Just 2 weeks away! Why is the PSL return date so special, you ask? Well for me, the return of the Pumpkin Spice Latte marks the unofficial beginning of fall.

Labor Day, the last summer holiday, has passed, kids around the country (not just here in AZ) are all back in school, cooler temperatures and sweater weather is on its way in, and sweaty weather on its way out! It brings to mind the anticipation of apple cider, warm scarves, crisp air, crunchy leaves and time spent with family. Isn't it so comforting that the best time of year is just around the corner?

I had quite the pep in my step the rest of the day having heard the wonderful news. After confirming the suspected date with my barista, I whispered, "Is the syrup here? Is it back there? I know we can't have it yet, but is it there?". This question was one that I already knew the answer to, but just had to ask anyway to put my holiday-filled mind at ease. I exhaled a sigh of relief when she smiled and shook her head 'yes'. Alright, it's really happening! Just hearing the confirmation that yes, indeed it IS there, sitting in that lonely back room anxiously awaiting its arrival in stores, was all I needed to feel comforted :-) Simply knowing that the shipment successfully made it to my Starbucks is almost more exciting to me than the day that it comes out... almost!

So there you have it. Tuesday, September 3, 2013 is the big day! Some stores will have a "soft-opening" during Labor Day Weekend. So if on Saturday, August 31st you happen to go to Starbucks, ask if you can have a PSL. The worst they can say is no, and the best they can say is yes, you can have the spicy orange drink a few days early :-) Also, the past 2 years they've had a competition on Facebook to give the city with the most "Pumpkin Spice Spirit" the drink a week early, so I'll be keeping my eye on that for you and updating as necessary! Last year Chicago won, and I think they won the year before, too. I would love if Arizona could give them a run for their money, but I don't think we have the population to compete, lol. Oh well. I guess I can wait 15 days ;-)

Thanks for reading! Have a wonderful day!